Destination UK – Northern Ireland | Teaching English | British Council

Theme: Northern Ireland
Lexical area: Describing places

Instructions for language assistants in Italics

Classroom materials

Introduction
This Essential UK lesson plan is part of a series of four entitled Destination UK. They look at the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. This one gives learners an insight into life in Northern Ireland. Task 1 is to designed to help clarify the confusion that students often face between exactly what the difference is between Great Britain, the UK and the British Isles. Task 2 is a simple true or false activity and Task 3 is a reading about life in Northern Ireland. Task 4 looks at some local language and Task 5 is based on the national dish of the country, the Ulster Fry. Task 6 looks at some traditional jokes based on the famous ‘Irishman, Englishman, Scotsman and Welshman’ concept.

Thanks to Johnny Lavery for his help with this lesson plan.

1. GB, the UK or British Isles? What’s what?
Put students into pairs or small groups to match the questions and the answers. If you have maps, atlases or any visual material to help them that would be great. If not, draw a map on the board to help. Don’t be surprised if your students don’t know the answers, help as much as necessary. There’s a really good diagram on Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia. It would really help students to see how the countries fit together. You could copy it onto the board. The link is:

Source of picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:British_Isles_Venn_Diagram.jpg

Answers: 1 – b, 2 – a, 3 – e, 4 – c, 5 – d.

Task 1 GB, UK or British Isles? What’s what?

Match the questions 1-5 with their answers a – e below.

1) What is ‘The UK’ short for?	a) Wales, Scotland and England.
2) Which countries make up Great Britain?	b) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
3) Which country is part of the UK but not part of Great Britain?	c) Cardiff, Edinburgh, London and Belfast.
4) What are the capital cities of the countries that make up the UK?	d) The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
5) Which countries make up the British Isles?	e) Northern Ireland

2. Northern Ireland: True or false?
This is a simple true or false activity to find out what students may or may not know about the country.

Answers: 1 – False, 2 – True, 3 – False (the Republic of Ireland use the Euro and Northern Ireland uses pounds) 4 – True (although there is a dialect called Ulster Scots) 5 – False. (Dublin is the capital city of the Republic of Ireland. Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland)

Task 2 Northern Ireland: True or false?

1) You can drive to Northern Ireland from Scotland.
2) The famous ship ’Titanic’ was built in Belfast.
3) Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have the same currency.
4) Most people in Northern Ireland speak English.
5) The capital city of Northern Ireland is Dublin.

3. Reading task: UK in focus
Copy and cut up the texts. Divide your class into three groups, A, B and C and give each group a copy (or several if the groups are large) of the corresponding texts, text A to group A and so on. Ask the group to read their text and then write two questions about what they have read in the space at the bottom. When all groups have done this, rotate the texts around the three groups (do this in an orderly way, clockwise or anti-clockwise) and then instruct the new group to read the text and answer one of the questions at the bottom. Then, pass the texts again (in the original direction!) and the new group answers the remaining question. Finally pass the texts to the next group and now each group should have the text that they prepared the questions for. Ask the groups to correct the answers and give any feedback to their classmates. The text is from:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/regional-northern_ireland

Task 3 Reading task: UK in focus

Text A Living in Northern Ireland

Where it is

Northern Ireland is part of the UK but is physically separated from mainland England, Wales and Scotland by the wild and sometimes treacherous Irish Sea. Northern Ireland has sea to the north and east, and borders the Republic of Ireland on the west and south, making it the only UK country with a European border.

Unsurprisingly these physical characteristics affect the mindset of its population, and it is not unusual to find some people who feel simultaneously a UK citizen, an Irish citizen and a European citizen. Alternatively, others shun their UK identity and embrace their Irishness, and many others insist on being ‘British’ and ignore their Irish neighbours.

In a population of 1.5 million nearly 60% are under 40, making it a country with an influential youth culture.

Question 1)
Answer 1)
Question 2)
Answer 2)

Text B Living in Northern Ireland

Religion and identity

Identity tends to be polarised according to the religious divide – Protestants tend to see themselves as ‘British’ and part of the UK (except when the Irish rugby team is in action and allegiance conveniently switches!), and Catholics tend to embrace the Irish identity and an all-Ireland ethos. As with any such sweeping statement there are many exceptions to the rule, and Northern Ireland is home to many people of other religions and cultural identities. There are also a huge number of people from both the Protestant and Catholic communities who value each other as friends and fellow citizens, and to whom religion takes a back seat.

Language

In common with the UK, people in Northern Ireland speak English (with a distinctive, hard to mimic accent). There also exist the lesser-used languages of Irish and Ulster Scots and many associated cultural activities.

Question 1)
Answer 1)
Question 2)
Answer 2)

Text C Living in Northern Ireland

Political devolution

Northern Ireland shares the Westminster government with the UK but has had its own devolved Assembly, currently suspended, with local control over various issues including education and arts. The population waits for local politicians to come to agreement so that the Assembly can be reinstated as independence from Westminster is valued.

Stereotypes

Stereotypical images of Northern Ireland often centre on its troubled and violent past: bombs, shootings, brutality, along with the more positive: building the Titanic, the Giants Causeway World Heritage Site, linen industry and musicians such as Van Morrison and Ash.

Question 1)
Answer 1)
Question 2)
Answer 2)

4. Local lingo
This is a task to show some of the typical words and phrases that are specific to Northern Ireland. Every region in the UK has their own special phrases and now may be a good time to teach the student some phrases from where you are from. To give some examples, as a Cornishwoman I would choose some like, ‘alright my bird?’ ‘What’s on?’ or ‘I’ll do it drekly’ (directly).

You could use this task for students to tell you about words and phrases from different parts of their country or to explain some local language to you.

Task 4 Local lingo
Have a look at some of these words and phrases that are specific to Northern Ireland. Then imagine you meet an Irish friend on the street. Write a short dialogue including some of the local language. Read your dialogue to the class.

Q: How was the craic? A: The craic was mighty!
Did you have a good time? Yes!
Greeting: How are yours?
Even the dogs on the street know it – relating to something that is common and apparently is a Belfast only expression.
I’ll do it now in a minute
‘bout ye? – How are you?
foundered – cold
scundered – embarrassed
yer man – that man
grand – good, OK
wee – little (also used in Scotland)
aye – yes (again, also used in Scotland)
boggin’ – dirty
'mon – come on
'mere – come here
stickin’ out – really good

5. The Ulster Fry
The national dish of Northern Ireland is the Ulster Fry. It’s similar to a traditional breakfast fry-up, with a few differences. It is often described as a ‘heart attack on a plate’!

Ask your student to look at the ingredients of the Ulster Fry. Teach unknown vocabulary by describing, drawing or translating the items. Then discuss the follow on questions. You could follow this up by asking students to write the ingredients for their ideal meal or a traditional dish they like.

Task 5 The Ulster Fry
In Northern Ireland they have a special dish known as the Ulster Fry. You can eat it for lunch, supper or breakfast. Have a look at the ingredients:

Bacon
Eggs
Sausage
Black pudding
White pudding
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Soda bread
Potato bread

All of the ingredients are fried, including the bread, and it is usually accompanied by cups of tea.

Would you like to try the Ulster fry? Why / why not?
What did you have for breakfast / lunch this morning?
What are the typical dishes from your country?

6. There was an Englishman, an Irishman, a Welshman and a Scotsman…
Jokes about different the nationalities of the UK are a classic part of British culture. Everybody has heard some jokes that start, “There was an Englishman, an Irishman, a Welshman and a Scotsman….” The joke varies depending on where you are and where the joke teller is from! The joke can be on any of the nationalities!

Either tell your students some of these jokes, (or ones of your own that are funnier) or give them out for students to read. See if they understand any of them and help when necessary. If your class don’t fall about laughing don’t worry – it may be that they’ve understood the English but just don’t find them funny!

Lead on to asking your students to translate some jokes to tell you. I’ve left two blank spaces in the table for students to write their own jokes. When they have done that, they can tell their jokes to the group.

Task 6 There was an Englishman, an Irishman, a Welshman and a Scotsman…
Many countries make jokes about other nationalities. Who does your country make jokes about? Do you think these types of jokes are funny?

In the UK the different countries often joke about one another. Read the jokes and see if you find them funny, then write two jokes of your own to tell the rest of the group. You can translate the jokes from your own language.

Englishman 1 – “What was the final score in the football match this afternoon?”

Englishman 2 – “ Nil-nil” (0-0)

Englishman 1 – “ Oh, and what was the score at half – time?!

Announcement at a London airport:
“Will the passenger who has left their hearing aid at the airline check in desk please come and collect it?”

After the famous boat race between Oxford and Cambridge, one of the mothers of the crew was consoling her son.
“Don’t worry son, you were fantastic. You rowed faster than the others in your boat!”